Electric snap switch



March 30 .1926.

E. c. D E REAMER ELEGTRIQSNAP SWITCH Filed March 4. 1924.l

Inenor Frank -:C. De Reamei' Fotentedv Man 3G, i926..

UNITED srATesrATENr oeste @stessi Application iile March 1924. Serial No. 698,883.

To all 'whom-'it may concern:

.Be it known that I, FRANK C. DE Reimer, a citizen of the United States, residing at lridgeport, county of Fairfield, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Snap Switches, ot' which the following is e specilication.

"`\ The present invention relates to electric switches 'and has for its object, to iniprove 'their construction to the end that they shall be small, simple in construction, cheap to manufacture and capable ot withstanding herd usage.

One application oi my invention is to vacuum cleaners Where the switch itself is lo cated Within the handle of the cleaner and the actuatoroutside and vis arranged to con trol the circuit of the operating motor.

For a consideration oi what l oeiieve to be' novel and my invention, attention is directed to te 'accompanying description and the claims appended thereto.

In fue accompanying drawing which illustrates one ot the etzoboclimentsy of my in- 1relation, Fig. 1 is .o view in side elevation of e switch; Fig.l 2 is auvencl view thereof; Fig. 3 is perspective view of the frame; Figs. Ivicmi 5 are respectively s sitle and end view of the insulating body which supports the. tired contacts; und Fig. G is c side. view showing how the insulating .body is protected from the hiomerblows' of the switch lever.

In order that the construction vof the suf'itch muy be readily understood. vthe drawing 1s mede on am enlarged scale, being opproxlmately twice actuel size.

It is of speomlirnportance in a switch ottA 'The highest portion 7 forms e stop to limit the reerwardmovenient ci the, inverted il* shaped lever 8 which carries the bridging Contact member 9 ofthe switch. Since the portion 7 is ifi-shaped with the open end at contacts.

The intermediate portion 1G of v tact is in the closed circuit position. These inclined or eut away parts :ire arranged to engage both legs of the switch lever and in this manner, prevent twisting of the lever und the contact. The stop also prevents the Contact or some movable part of the lever from tlelifcring hammer blows on the insulating block which carries the stationary This is clearly shown in Fig. 6. it or about the shoulders or junctions be tween the inclined. surfaces ll of the intermediate portion of the frame and the vertical Walls of-12 the high part T of the trame, the metal is pressed outwardly by e, die operation to vforno two pivots 13 for the lever, one on each side. are formed integral with the frame l there by avoid the use oi additional small parts and therefore. the cost of manufacture 1s re. duced as well as the cost of assembly. The

Since these pivots.

pivots extend only a shortr distance outwartlly from the frame, which arrangement permits the legs ol the lever 8 to be mount ed thereon by merely springing them outwartlly by a. small amount in the essembiy operation.

i4; indicates the low portion ot the 'frame and shoulders i5 'ure provided between it :incl the intermediate portion. The ,low portion. of the freine. is also U-shepoci in cross section undseatcti therein is e block of insulation 16, the bottom of which snugly lits the sider walls of the frame. The enti ot the block firmly engages the shoulders lo between the low sind intermediate parte of the frame, the thickness of the block at this point beingslightly greaterthan 'the dist-ance between the outer surfaces oi the frame. he block is held in posit-ion by a. .single countersunk screw 17 inserted from the .upper side. As o result of the construcytion described the block kis -tirmly held against lateral or twisting movement by the 4enlarged-at the other end to prevent acci-4 tudinal movement by the shoulders and the screw, the latter also holdinglthe block from risingtroni its seat. f

ln the block are anchored two hollow rivets 18, one on each side. Each rivet unites a stationary Sprin Contact 19 with a binding post 20, each o the latter having a screw to hold a circuit wire or conductor. Each stationary contact extends toward the moving switch lever and its bridging contact S) so that when the switch is closed the stationary contacts and the lever occupy positions approximately at right angles to each othern lt is to be especially noted that no portion ot' the stationary contacts, the binding posts or their screws extend outside of the vertical left-hand end ot the block. As a result ot this the overall length of the switch is reduced to a minimum and the instalation of the leads or conductors and the switch parts from their containers, whether it be a tube or other support7 is simplified.

Each time the switch is closed a certain amount of strain is exerted on the fixed contacts 19 and through them on the rivets 18 due to the fact that there is friction between the relatively movable contacts. In order to relieve the rivets ot some of this strain and also to prevent the contacts 19 from turning or twisting the sides of the block are countersunk at 2l as best shown in Figs. #l and 5. A portion of the wall of each countersink is so shaped as to engage 'the curved lower edge 22 of a contact and thereby support it, especially during the circuit closing movement of the switch.

The moving parts of the switch will now -be oescribed. ln brief, it may be stated that they comprise a member which carries a. bridging contact and a toggle mechanism for actuating the member so arranged that the center hingey or pivot and the spring are caused to more across the dead center to snap the bridging contact to both its open and closed positions. ln the bottom wall of the frame is a slot 23 arid located therein is a handle or trigger 24 vhich is mounted on a horizontal pivot 25, tie latter extending through both walls ofthe frame and having a head on one end and deformed or dental withdrawal.. inside the frame the trigger is enlarged to form a head and on opposite sides thereof are shoulders 26 which limit its movements by engaging the bottom wall of the iframe at the respect-ive ends of the trigger movements. In the upper end of the trigger is e small fork 27, the members of which engage the enlarged lower end of the rectangular rod 28 to forni a hinged connection. The upper end ,of the rod extends through a. hole or guide in a lateral ear 29 formed integral with the cross meniber which connects the legs of the-U-'shaped lever. Surrounding the rod and engaging the ear at its upper end and a washer at the other is a coiled compression spring 30.

which when the trigger is moved a certain distance, i. e., sufficient to cause the hinge joint to pass the dead center, snaps .the con-` tact 9 to its open or closed position as the case may be. l v

As previously stated the lever 8 is in the form of an inverted U and isl made of sheet metal by suitable die operations. The lower ends of the legs straddle the frame and move on pivots 13, while the up r and connecting end or member is somewliat narrower than the space between the Side walls of the frame, the upper and lower end portions of each leg being connected b v inclined portions 31 as best shown in Fig. 2, and it isA these portions which Strike the vertical edges et the frame part 7 when the switch opens and which strike the in clined edges l1 of the intermediate part when the switch closes. y

By arranging the parts in the manner described the distance between the outside surfaces of the contact 9 may be made slightly less than the thickness of the block of insulan tion with the net result that the switch as a whole is very thin and hence occupies only a narrow space in its holder or container.

As the ymetallic lever v8 carries the U- sbaped contact 9 it is necessary to insulate these parts one from the other. This is done by providing a U-shaped piece of insulation 32 between the two. .ln order to unite the lever, contact and insulation a single hollow eyelet or rivet 33 is employed which eX- tends thro'ugh the bridge piece .of the lever and is insulated from the contact by a small sleeve and washer. lt is to permit of properly insulating the 'Contact that the'outwardn ly extending ear 29 is provided.

@wing to the fact that the Contact 9 has three broad flat surfaces, i. e., a top and two sides, and is forceddown over the lever, the insulation between it and the leverhas no les opportunity to twist or` turn and hence a single rivet is sulicient to hold it in place.

The frame of the switch is secured in the handle or tube of a vacuum cleaner indicated by dotted lines in Fig. l by av pair of small screws which enter thethreaded openings 34, and the trigger extends through a slot in the wall of the handle or tube so as to be accessible froni the outside. In practice, the circuit wires or conductors are passed through the handle or tube and the ends connected to the binding posts after which the switch is pushed into the tube or handle to the `proper position and then heldby screws.

lWhat I claimv as new and'desire t`o secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is,-

1. In an electric switch, the combination ot a frame which is @Shaped in cross section 'and hashigh, lox'v 'and intermediate side wall portions with shoulders between them, a

body oi insulation'seated on the bottomof.`

the trame between the low sidewalls and engaging a shoulder, fixed contactson the body 'which extend. toward said high portion, a

contact arranged to bridge the tixed contacts,

. a lever which carries the bridging` contact,

' land toggle means for actuating the lever, the

movements of the lever and contact being limited in one direction by the high portion;

of. 'the frame and in the opposite direction by the intermediate portion thereof. A

2. In an electric switch, the combination of afframewhich is U-shaped in cross sec- 4 tion and hashigh, low and intermediate side Wall portions, a body ot insulation carriedby' the low portion, ytired contacts on thel sides thereof, a lpnir of outwardly extending plv# ots carrie by the intermediate portion, an inverted U-,shaped lever which straddles the intermediate portion 1nd moves onthe pivots, the movements of the lever in one direction being arrested by the upper edges of the intermediate portion, and in the opposite direction bythe edgeslof the high portion of the frame, an insulatedA Contact carried by.

the lever and arranged to bridge 'the fixed trame, fixed contacts carried by contacts, and a toggle which comprises a, 30

trigger pivoted tothe trame andl a member recesses, the walls of which assist' in porting the fixed jcontacts adjacent their free ends by engaginga portion ofthe edges thereof,` an inverted U-shaped lever' which Straddles the frame, pivots on the' frame for the lever, a Contact' carried by the lever and insulated therefrom which is adapted to bridge the fixed contactdamltoggle means for moving the bridging contacts by snap action into Land ont of engagement with the fixed contacts.

5. Inan electric switch, the combination oa frame, a pair of fixed contacts mounted' rod,l a spring, seid rod, trigger and spring" forming a toggle means for moving the lever to'open Aand close the circuit at the contacts associated With the trigger and lever for4 moving the latter and its contact'with a snap action to both ot its positions. i

3. ln an electric switch, the combination of o frame which is U-shaped in cross section end has higinlow and intermediate side Wall portions with shoulders between them,"

a body of insulation which is seated onv the bottom of the .low portion of the' frame, held by the .walls thereof from turning and firmly engages oneof the shoulders, means for fastening the' body to the bottom of the the sides of the body and extending toyvard'the high portion of the frame, pivotsxcarried bythe intermediate poition of the frame and Iextending outwardly therefrom, an inverted U-shaped lever Whichstraddles the intermediate portion of the frame and is mounted on the pivots, said lever being arrested at the end of one Obits movements by the edges',- 'ot the intermediate portion of the trame, and

' at the end of its other movement by the shoulder bet-Ween the intermediate and high portions of the frame, a bridging contact carried by the lever and insulated therefrom, and toggle members for actuating the lever and its contact with ai snap action.

4. In an electric switch, the combination of `a frame which is U-shaped in. cross-secan? by a snap act-ion, and means formed in the lever and on the frame which cooperate to provide stops for limiting the movement of the lever. .between'said opere-and. closed circuit ositions. i f

46. 1i anelectric switch, the combination of a metallici frame, a Ulshaped metallic lever'pivotally su ported at its open ends on the frein, 'a -Uf ilapcd `bridge contact conformingdn shapeto andA mounted on the free enc/lief the lever, a Ushaped body of insulation-between saidcontact and the free end of the lever, a. pair of spaced contacts located in the ypath of movement of the bridging contact, a body. ot insulation mounted on the frame land having `recesses in its sides, in which recesses the contacts are secured., the walls of the recesses being' in engagement'with the edges of .the vcontats" for a portion. of their lengthadja'cent the free'ends of the latter whereby the contacts are supported by said Walls, an actinl ator pivoter on the iramega rodwhioh is hinged to 'thefactuatoiy a-fcoiied compres sion spring'wvhich surrounds the rod, the. actuator, rodand spring 'forming a toggle, and means connecting thel'ever and through which movements of the toggle are imparted to theleverand its bridging contact.,y i l `In an electric switch, the combination of a metallicA freine which is U-shaped 1n cross-section and has integral high, low `and in te'rn'iedia'tey side wall portions, .a metallic tion, e body of insulation' mounted thereonlever pivotally mounted at one end on the at one end and having recesses in the'sides,

, xed contacts located in said recesses, said' '.,contacts bein v t anchored adjacent end having ree ends extending one end"`the`reof, means f from offinsula'ted contacts, e U-shapedbrdgng rod and.

liighV endy intermediate side Wall' portions foractueting thelever, e pair contact mounted on the free end of the lever and arranged to bridge said pair of contacts, n U-shaped body oi' insulation located between the free end of the lever and its bridging contiict, and a hollow insulated rivet which unites the bridging Contact, body of insulation und the free' end of said lever.

8. ln mi electric switch, the combination of a frame which is U-shaped in cross section und has high, low and intermediate side wall portions, n body of insulation sented on the bottoni of the frame between the low leide walls. und having recesses in its si'des, a ixed contact located in euch of said recesses und Supported for a portion of its length by the side walls thereof, a U-shaped lever pivotally supported at vits, open ends by the .ir-aine, said lever having anlear which extends laterally from the closed end thereof, said ear being provided with a. guide opening, a U-shape'd bridging Contact mounted on the closed end of the leverA and arranged to bridge the fixed contacts, a rod which extends through the guide opening in the ear, a trigger which is hinged to the rod, anda spring, said rod,.trigger and spring forming a toggle means for moving the lever to curry the bridging Contact into and ont ot' bridging engagement with thefiiced contacts by e snap action, the movement of the lever and bridging Contact being liinited in one direction by the high portion of the Jraine and in the opposite direction by the intermediate portion thereof.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto Set my hand this 1st day of March, 1924:.

FRANK C. DE BEAMER. 

